Team Ezreal: The Legends Rising
by ged565
Summary: Following the Rune Wars, the supercontinent of Valoran was left in ruins. However, war lead to the founding of the League of Legends, where champions from city-states form teams to do battle on Summoner's Rift as sport. Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, prefers to do solo matches...but somehow ends up on a team. Can he manage as team leader and bring his team to victory and fame?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends in any way, shape, or form.**

 **I've wanted to write a League of Legends story for a while, and finally have gotten around to it! I'm super excited because there is just so much character and plot possibilities to work with in League of Legends! So, fellow Summoners, I present to you 'Team Ezreal: The Legends Rising!'**

 **Although they do do battle on the Summoner's Rift that you're familiar with, there are a few differences because in this story it isn't just a computer game. I'll dedicate an entire chapter to list some key points after the prologue so that you don't get confused as to why certain things are able to happen the way they are. But for now, enjoy the prologue!**

* * *

Prologue

The Institute of War, a system set up in ancient times by a group of magus to keep order in the world…

Long ago, in the world of Runeterra, a series of wars broke out between the countless city-states that resided within the supercontinent of Valoran. Being the sole supercontinent within Runeterra, whether due to the conquering of any other continents or through land formation, the warring city-states were forced to confront each other directly in bloody battles. However, the wars that took place in Valoran were no ordinary wars; they were full of magic.

With such deadly powers being exploited in the use of warfare, Runeterra began being affected in unprecedented ways. Magical disasters appeared throughout the world, earthquakes shook Valoran, the skies roared, full of storms with an authority of their own. The scale of the war appropriately gave it the name of the Rune War.

The many disturbances throughout Runeterra lead to many discoveries and creations throughout the world; _magical_ discoveries and creations. Creatures never before seen awoke in the midst of the war, and the once civilized Valoran became the stage of a bloody and chaotic free for all. Raw amounts of magic were used during the war with no thought of consequence; victory and survival were the only things the city-states were concerned with. Ironically, the more magic that was used to survive, the more the world began to face demolition. The geography of the world was in complete turmoil, and thus, the war catapulted into scales so large that they are measured as a completely new war; the second Rune War.

By the time the second Rune War came around, the city-states of Valoran had lost all sense of justice, and bloodlust became the drive for war behind military leaders. It was clear that the only remaining sense of unity that binded the city-states of Valoran now was war and hatred...but the magus that advocated for peace during this time used this to their advantage. If war united the world, then war was the only route left.

This mindset gave birth to the Institute of War, an organization that used war to create peace. The magus of the institute founded the League of Legends, a massive battle system where representatives of the respective city-states, known as Champions, gathered to do battle in controlled, tournament style brawls. They combatted over political matters in arenas known as the Fields of Justice, where victory was decided by the destruction of the enemy nexus, a massive structure built of pure mana by the magus who ran the League of Legends. In this way, the destruction of the Rune Wars began to calm down, and Valoran could focus on rebuilding itself to the best of their ability, and although hostilities between the city-states continued to burn with a passion, these tensions could be settled in an observed environment.

The League of Legends was a large success, and more and more champions were inaugurated as city-states attempted to gain more representatives, and it got to the point where a city-state's strength was measured by the strength of their Champions. In this way, the League of Legends became the diamond of Valoran, with countless species dreaming to become Champions. Over time, the need for the League to settle political disorder faded into a need to prove not just the power of one's city-state, but the power of one's individual self, and the Champions who prided themselves upon the Fields of Justice became widely popular throughout the world.

The League of Legends showed just how far peace had come in Valoran, as teams made up of Champions from different city-states began to be formed. It became a sport for Champions to participate in and for others to watch and hope to one day participate in. It was simple enough: Fight to destroy your opponent's nexus. Furthermore, death was controlled in the Fields of Justice by the magus who watched over the League from the Institute of War. If you were killed while on the Fields of Justice, what was killed was really an embodiment of your soul, and the Champion's physical body would be respawned after a period of time. It was in this way that the League of Legends became known as the greatest discovery in Valoran.

However, the Rune Wars, although mostly just a bad memory in the present, had too many lasting effects to be written off as a catastrophe of the past. The scale of the wars had taken its permanent toll on Runeterra. There was no such thing as true peace in a world that was pretending that it wasn't as shaken as it was. Yes, pretending was all the residents of Runeterra could do. Pretend all is well; and look for the signs of a rising threat.

* * *

Footsteps sounded in a cave, the sound echoing and bouncing off all the walls. The figure stopped for a moment before continuing onwards in a much more quiet manner. They didn't have a very large build, but they were a man without a doubt. They had a pair of goggles on, allowing them to see traces of heat within the dark. Their breathing was slow, methodical, _careful_. Inching forward painfully slowly, the figure finally stopped in front of the wall of the cave, pushing the goggles onto the top of their head. Their face was shadowed as they grabbed a map out of their pockets.

"Can't believe I'm using a map…" The figure mumbled while pressing one hand against the stone wall while the other hand held the map. Their hand pressed around a bit before a purple energy emanated from the wall to their hand, and then-

"Ouch!" The figure fell backwards onto their butt, waving their hand in the air in pain. The wall was steaming, and a small, certain spot on the wall was still emitting an eerie purple energy.

"It...shocked me…" He muttered under his breath, standing again to observe the energy. "What...is it?" He flipped the goggles back over his eyes and immediately took a few steps back.

"I've never seen anything like this before...and I've seen everything this world has to offer!" He became aware that he was raising his voice too loud, as it bounced all around the cavern, and he suddenly felt very small. His attention focused back on the strange material in the cave's wall. After standing there looking at it for a while, he turned around, facing towards a light that must've been the entrance to the cave, ready to leave.

"I'll flag this area and come back another time." He began walking away from it. Had he stayed a little longer, he would've seen, would've heard a pulse from within that purple circle of 'energy' within the wall. A pulse; just like a heartbeat.

* * *

They may pretend. They will pretend, and will distract themselves with the sport that is The League of Legends. But most of all, they will pray hopelessly, uselessly, that their fragile peace can be withheld by the champions of this world.

A world that needs to die will not be saved.

 _Will not be spared._

* * *

 **As you can probably tell, this story is not just, 'Oh let's try and be the number 1 team in League of Legends!' There is a LOT more plot and conflict involved because there is just SO MUCH STORY POTENTIAL in League of Legends! So there is a LOT more going on than just battling on Summoner's Rift. A LOT more. So stay tuned! ^^**

 **Good Luck and Have Fun on the Rift, fellow Summoners!**


	2. Key Points that you should know to read

**So since the League of Legends isn't just a computer game here, there are a few key differences I would like to point out.**

 **-There is no such thing as items. Infinity Edge and Trinity Force and Blade of the Ruined King do NOT exist. Why? Because the Champions are actual people, not just game characters. They have their own weapons. Ezreal has his bow. Lux has her wand. They already have their own weapons and items that they use. It wouldn't make sense for Ezreal to run around with an actual sword.**

 **-Because there are no items, there is no gold. Well, the Champions earn money that they can spend on a daily basis for competing in the League of Legends because it's like a sport, but what I mean is you don't get gold to buy items in a match. Because there aren't items, so gold isn't needed. It wouldn't make sense.**

 **-HP and MP are not things. They are not game characters, they are humans. They die when they die, not when they run out of HP. They can't use spells and stuff anymore when they run out of energy and can't go on, not when they run out of MP. Like I keep saying, they're humans(er, actually not all of them are human, so...they're real I guess makes more sense), not game characters. So no HP or MP.**

 **-Cooldowns are not things. The spells and stuff that the champions are using are their personal abilities. If Ezreal wants to shoot as many mystic shots as he can all at once, nothing is stopping him from doing that because it is his ability. Basically, just don't think of this as the game. Two abilities can collide and make an explosion, because in this story it's all real.**

 **-Minions and Experience and Levels WILL be a thing because it's necessary in order to add flavor to the League of Legends. It'll be explained in a way that makes sense in the story.**

 **TL;DR: Just keep the mindset that in this story, the League of Legends is real and not a computer game. Therefore, anything that exists in the game that only exists to make it a game does not exist in this story. Imagine that the League of Legends actually existed in today, in real life. That's all you really need to know.**


	3. Welcome to the League of Legends

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Here is chapter 1! Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Welcome to The League of Legends

Silence was spread over a mass of trees, occasionally being broken by the distant sound of metal clanging against metal. It wasn't a peaceful silence; the atmosphere was uneasy and shadows were cast eerily over all the trees and bushery.

Then, in a single moment, the silence and darkness was interrupted by a golden flash among the trees. The flash lit up the area before quickly disappearing, and just as the shadows began to swallow that area up again, the burst of golden light flashed in a different, nearby area. This time, however, it was quickly followed by a flash of blue, and the silence was officially broken as footsteps sprinting across the forest floor and leaping over roots and low hanging branches took hold of the air.

A pair of boots stepped on a beaten bush, only staying on the ground for an instant before quickly being lifted once more.

"You should stop running now! You can't dodge all of my arrows while focusing on putting distance between us; and let's face it. Once I hit you once, running won't be an option anymore!" A female voice shouted from the distance.

The figure running in the lead let out an amused chuckle. He swiped his hand across his forehead, brushing for a moment against his blonde hair. There were marks underneath each of his eyes, and he had an exhilarated grin.

"S'that so, Queen Ashe? Catch me if you can, then!" With that, Ezreal put more power into his heels and sprinted off even faster. With an annoyed grunt, Ashe leaped over a bush, readying an arrow from her quiver. As she landed, she saw a branch swinging back to hit her in the face; no doubt a present Ezreal had left for her. She rolled her eyes and ducked to dodge it.

"Do you think ameteur tactics will slow me down?" Ezreal's chuckle sounded through the air.

"Hey Ice Queen, just be glad it's this ameteur that you're chasing! Not everyone will be as nice as me to have a conversation with you while we play tag!" Ashe hissed in frustration at Ezreal's stupid taunts.

"When I find you you'll never move another limb, Ezreal!" She growled. She leaped off of a tree trunk and found herself in a pitch black clearing. Her eyes narrowed as she readied her arrow in her bow and surveyed the area.

"Maximum focus. I don't hear him running anymore; I've got him." She whispered to herself, eyes still keenly looking around her. She began slowly walking forward with knees bent and hands positioned on her bow, ready to shoot reactively.

"I see you at least know what tactics are! Trying to get the jump on me, are you? Well, at least you're finally attempting to fight back. With this, I can take this victory with pride rather than pity for you." She voiced out as she continued inching forward into the dark openness of the clearing. An eerie silence fell over the area as Ashe's eyes began trying to make out his stupid blonde head within the darkness.

"Heh. You also seem to know not to have a conversation while trying to ambush an opponent. I guess I must give you more credit than before; it seems you actually _do_ understand that you should shut up when you're about to get blasted to the next ice age." More silence followed Ashe's taunt.

"Now, where are you…" Ashe muttered under her breath to herself. Her ears twitched as she heard a thump to her left, and she immediately whipped around, bow and arrow raised and arm drawn back on the arrow as she saw two pairs of green eyes. She pulled back harder on the arrow, but slowly relaxed her arms.

"The Wolf." She muttered. Suddenly, she felt something pressed up against the back of her head, and her eyes widened immensely as a gold light illuminated from behind her.

"You know, for all that talk, I think _you're_ the one who needs to learn to speak less in a battle, Ice Queen."

"You-!" Ashe whipped around in surprise, only to come face to face with Ezreal's bow, which had a glowing bolt of static energy in its center pressed right up against Ashe's forehead now. He gave her a triumphant grin. He annoyed her to the very last breath.

"Tell me what the next ice age feels like, Ice Queen." Light filled up the entire arena, as well as a loud voice.

"FIRST BLOOD!"

* * *

"You and your tricks…" Ashe muttered. Ezreal raised an eyebrow amusedly.

"Tricks? I think you were just disrespecting me too much." She turned to leave.

"Well, you may have this victory, Ezreal. I'll return, though. Can't leave an explorer running around thinking he's fit to take on a Queen." Her tone was half serious, half sarcastic, so Ezreal wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"...is that so?" He said finally. Ashe yawned and rubbed the corner of her eye.

"My goodness you're boring! For someone who talks too much I figured you'd be better at conversations." Ezreal smirked.

"Am I the one who talks too much?" Ashe's face formed an embarrassed scowl as she immediately turned away from him.

"Right, I forgot, the only thing you're good at is annoying others. Well, I do believe I'll take my leave now. Good day; and good game, Ezreal." She began walking away from him, her hips swaying. Ezreal whistled at her sass before calling out to her and waving one arm.

"Don't forget to tell me what the next ice age feels like next time!" He heard her groan in annoyance, earning a laugh from him as he turned to walk the other direction. He looked around him, observing the Lounge of Legends(very cleverly named, eh?). It was the place within the League of Legends where champions would go to sign up for matches on the Summoner's Rift. It also broadcasted matches on large television screens that were spread all throughout the Lounge so that people could spectate, since champions weren't the only ones allowed in the lounge. Normal people could pay to enter the Lounge of Legends to watch matches right where they take place, and also of course, paying to use the Lounge meant you could meet your favorite celebrity champion. Ezreal smirked, remembering one time when a girl fainted upon meeting him in the lounge.

The lounge also served food and drinks to enjoy while watching matches. Ezreal looked up at a screen nearby him, watching a battle unfold as the magus who were casting the match began speaking rapidly.

"She nearly makes it out, but Zyra immediately catches her, and a quick grasping roots sends her back to the grave! Props to Zyra on that one, she waited patiently for her pray-but here comes-!" Ezreal stopped listening and turned to walk away from the live broadcast of the 5v5 match. Ezreal occasionally played 5v5 matches utilizing the random team builder option in the Lounge. Basically, it put you on a random team for one 5v5 match. A lot of the champions utilized this option, but there were also a lot of champions who formed official teams, with team names and all that stuff. But Ezreal wasn't keen on that idea. He was mostly a solo player, just because he never really got around to looking to join an official team. Thus, he only used the random team builder or played 1v1 matches. He chuckled as he remembered his previous 1v1 match against Ashe.

"That one was interesting."

"Talking to yourself now, are we?" Came a soft but teasing voice. Ezreal blinked in recognition and turned around.

"The Lady of Luminosity herself." He said, bowing jokingly. Lux put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, and Ezreal's face slowly shaped itself into a smile before they both began laughing. He straightened himself and walked over to her as he gained control of his laughter.

"What're you doing here, Lux?" She flashed him a smile.

"I came to see you!" Ezreal did a double take.

"Uh...what?"

"I came to see you!" She repeated. The two friends stood there for a bit before Ezreal scratched the back of his head.

"Uh...here...I am?" He said uncertainly. She began giggling at his awkwardness.

"Oh, you never fail to amuse me Ez!" He blinked a couple more times uncertainly.

"...thank you?" Lux put her hands behind her back, rocking her torso side to side a bit while looking at her shoes.

"If you keep replying that way, a girl might think you're not interested in talking to her, you know." Ezreal laughed nervously.

"I-it's not like I'm not-" Lux's laughter interrupted him as she bent over, holding her stomach.

"Oh geez, Ez! I'm just joking around with you!" She began laughing more. Ezreal rolled his eyes.

"Lux! Stop that!" She rubbed at her eyes before standing straight again, smiling at him.

"In all seriousness, though, I really did come to see you!"

"Okay, what'd you need me for?" He asked. She smiled as she took a step forward, surprising him. She extended an arm towards him with the other still behind her back. A particular brightness lit up her face, making Ezreal's eyes widen as he looked at her in all of her glory.

"Well, I was thinking...let's build a team, Ez!" He blinked before taking a step back at her sudden proposal.

"Wh-what?!" Lux rolled her eyes at him good naturedly.

"Maybe you really _aren't_ interested in listening to anything I say. I said let's build a team, together! What do you say, Ez?" He looked at her hand that was extended towards him for a bit before looking back at her face.

"Uh...I mean...isn't this a little sudden? And by that I mean a LOT sudden? And fast? And out of nowhere?" Lux laughed.

"Oh Ezreal, you just said sudden three different ways!" He scratched the back of his head.

"That isn't the point here Lux…" She smiled.

"Sure it's sudden! Does that make any difference, though?" Ezreal sighed.

"That's so like you, Lux. To just appear out of nowhere asking to form a team together...honestly, what'll I do with you?"

"You'll build a team with me!" She replied enthusiastically. Ezreal rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't exactly looking for you to answer my question. It was rhetorical."

"So that's a yes?" She said. Ezreal looked at her hand.

"That's a no."

"Great, then we can go ahead and submit our forms to the desk over at the Institute and-" There was a pause as Lux stopped talking mid sentence with a smile still planted on her face. However, the smile began wavering and twitching, and she coughed nervously. "I'm sorry...what was that, Ezreal?" He rolled his eyes.

"I know you aren't deaf, Luxanna. I said no. I'm not interested in forming a team." There was an awkward silence between them. People walked past them as they just stood still in the middle of the lounge. Finally, Lux's smile faded completely. Her eyes screwed shut before opening wide.

"What do you MEAN 'NO'?!" She yelled angrily. Ezreal gulped as he backed up a bit. He hated seeing Lux's angry side; it was terrifying.

"Here I came ALL the way from Demacia JUST to form a team with you, and you say NO?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF EZREAL!" He gulped as she backed him up into a wall with his hands in front of him.

"W-well, it's just that I wasn't exactly looking to dedicate myself to an official team right now-"

"Right now? Right now?! More like ever! You've never joined an official team!"

"Well what team is this? You can't have a team with just two members." Ezreal countered. The sudden stiffness in Lux's shoulderblades told Ezreal that he had got her. Naturally, he didn't waste this advantage.

"See? There _is_ no team. That's why I told you this was way too sudden."

"We'll find the team members! Together! We can recruit!" Lux urged. Ezreal rolled his eyes.

"Lux, you gotta plan these things ahead of time."

"I _did_ plan! I planned that we would recruit for the team together! So come on already! Please, Ez?" Ezreal swallowed down a large amount of saliva.

 _Oh geez, I almost agreed just now, why does she have to say please like that? It isn't fair._ He quickly cleared his head before continuing to be stubborn.

"Like I said, I'm not looking to have that sort of dedication right now. How about we compromise? Recruit some team members and then maybe I'll consider it." Lux huffed with her arms crossed.

"You're just buying yourself enough time to run away. I know you too well, you know." Ezreal cursed under his breath. She indeed knew him too well.

"Er...well...I don't know what to tell you, Lux." She stomped her foot.

"Fine, how about this. We'll settle it the good old fashioned way!" Ezreal raised an eyebrow, so she continued speaking enthusiastically. "Face me in a match, Ez. 1v1. If I win, you'll form a team with me and we'll go recruiting teammates together."

"And if I win, you'll forget all about wanting to form a team with me." Ezreal finished the deal slowly. Settling things with a solo match; now _this_ was his natural environment. Lux nodded, satisfied that he understood the conditions.

The two of them made their way over to a desk in the Lounge.

"Ezreal. Lux. How may I help you two champions?" The girl at the front of the desk asked.

"We'd like to have a private match. 1v1." The girl began typing things on an advanced looking laptop.

"Alright, a 1v1 match on the Summoner's Rift between Luxanna Crownguard, the Lady of Luminosity, and Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer. The first champion to achieve First Blood, score 100 minion kills, or destroy the inner tower wins the game." She stated as she went over the basic rules that both champions knew all too well already.

"Your match is all set up and ready to go! Outside of the Fields of Justice, you each have amazing powers. Once you enter the Fields, however, and do battle on Summoner's Rift, a percentage of your power is sealed away. Throughout the game or match, these sealed percentages of your power will eventually be returned to you in the form of levels. Gain levels and thus regain your power by gaining experience points, which are offered by killing minions, enemy champions, or enemy towers. Neutral monsters also reside within the Rift's jungle, and will provide experience points to help you level up if taken. Death on the Rift is a temporary thing, and is controlled by the magus watching over the Fields of Justice. An embodiment of your soul is destroyed when you die on the Rift, and depending on your level, your physical body will respawn at your fountain after an amount of time." Ezreal scratched his head as the lady spoke.

"Er, I don't mean to rudely interrupt, but why are we going over the basic rules of the Summoner's Rift? I'm sure every champion knows them…" The girl met Ezreal's gaze easily.

"You see, Explorer, the rules of the Fields is that a champion will be filled in if they're missing in action for an extended period of time, as the 'basic rules of the Summoner's Rift' have the ability to change over time. Miss Crownguard here has been away from the Fields of Justice for some time, and thus it is my duty to remind her of the rules and how matches in the Fields of Justice work. Anymore complaints?" Ezreal blinked a few times while Lux tried not to laugh.

"Uh...no ma'am." He answered. She nodded curtly.

"Very good. Then you may begin your match right away by heading to the Match Pods. Since he is so uninterested in hearing things he already knows, I'm sure Ezreal can remind you where those are in the Lounge, and trust that I don't need to give directions." Ezreal nodded before quickly walking away with Lux following. After they were a good distance away, Lux burst into laughter.

"You just got absolutely destroyed by her!" She exclaimed. Ezreal's face was red with embarrassment.

"Oh...shut up." He muttered. They walked to the match pods and entered a room with pods. Ezreal took a seat in a pod, as did Lux, and they began hooking up to the system.

"You see our match?" Ezreal asked. Lux nodded.

"Alright. Good luck. Have fun." Lux smiled at him.

"Good luck. Have fun." And with that, both champions began glowing within the pods.

* * *

When Ezreal opened his eyes, he found himself standing on the fountain in his base.

"Blue side, huh." He said as he stepped off the fountain. He looked up ahead to his left and saw the Nexus bursting with magic and energy. He stood still for a bit, watching the Nexus flare in all of its brilliance.

"Minions will spawn in 30 seconds." Came the voice of a magus broadcasting their private match. Ezreal shook his head and began walking down the middle lane. He couldn't believe he had gotten himself into this situation.

"Minions have spawned!" The voice rang out like some omnipotent figure. Ezreal heard a churning noise; the sound of his Nexus producing minions. The 'minions' were really familiars that were constantly generated and created by the Nexus, which had a bundle of magical power stored within it provided by the magus who watched over the Fields of Justice to continue generating minions for the match.

Ezreal looked behind him at the noise of the minion familiars marching down his lane; familiars that held swords in the front and familiars that grasped staffs in the back. The familiars were about half as tall as Ezreal, and each one would offer a small amount of experience to all enemies near its death. Ezreal looked down at his hand, and his golden bow materialized. Obviously a large percentage of his actual power was currently stored away, otherwise he would be able to blast every last minion familiar on the rift to pieces, which wouldn't make for much of a match. So he was level 1. He followed behind the last caster minion and saw Lux across the lane, her wand raised. A sharp particle of light shot out of Lux's wand, slicing against a melee minion. Ezreal concentrated his energy into an arrow before also shooting it at a melee minion on Lux's side. The two of them silently shot minions for a while before Lux interrupted it.

"So Ez." She started. He didn't look at her, his focus on waiting until the perfect moment to take the last hit on a minion, but his ears perked.

"What should our team name be?" She continued. He rolled his eyes as he shot a minion, causing it to fade from existence.

"Are you that confident that you'll win?" He asked. Her lips slowly formed into a smile.

"...I am!" With that, Lux suddenly leaped forward, catching Ezreal by surprise.

"Hyah!" She yelled as particles of light began slicing through the air and towards Ezreal.

"Kuh…" He backflipped away, and the ground where he had been standing on previously was stabbed by her light particles.

"I figured since you'd been out of the Fields for a while you'd be rusty. Most people are aggressive to a dot, but you've been quiet all game. Guess you were just waiting to get used to things again, huh?" Ezreal said. Lux smirked.

"You could say that. But now, I'm taking my win!" She held her wand out, and a sphere of light materialized before shooting at Ezreal. His eyes narrowed as he rolled out of the way. The sphere exploded to his side, and he got back up on his feet...only to see another sphere being launched towards him.

"Tch, this woman is relentless!" He gritted his teeth as he began running to the side, dodging each explosive sphere of light.

"You can't run forever!" Lux yelled, going after him. However, her onslaught was completely stopped when she realized his minions were beginning to move towards her.

"You really are rusty, Lux! Aggression is the norm, but you can't be so aggressive as to step out of your safety zone!" Lux narrowed her eyes.

 _He's right. My zone of safety is a little bit behind my melee minions; and it's the same for him. If I get too close to my melee minions while attacking him, the switch in the mind of the familiars will turn, signalling to them that I'm a threat and I'm nearby, and then they'll start attacking me. I won't be able to manage invading his zone to try and kill him, defending myself from him, and defending myself from his minions all at the same time. That's why this was never really a sport; it's a game of tactics._ Lux shot a sphere of light at the minions, causing them to slow their advance towards her.

"Hmph!" She exploded the sphere, causing the minions to fade out of existence. _But…_ She rose her wand once more.

"If I get rid of the minions, my zone of safety will extend, and I can invade further into your zone!" She began running at Ezreal once more as his eyes narrowed.

 _I hadn't realized how close my minions were to dying. It's because she was slicing away at them before her aggression onto me...Lux always took strategical approaches. It looks like she isn't all that rusty after all._ He watched as she charged a sphere of light in her wand while running at him. _But...I'm not an ameteur._

"Hah!" He shot a blast of energy from his bow, and it collided with her sphere of light right as she launched it, creating an explosion.

"Counterattacking finally, are we?" Lux said. Ezreal smirked.

"You bet, and I'm not stopping until I push you back to your fountain!" He leapt in the air and began raining mystic shots down at her.

"Hmph!" Lux tossed her wand in the air, creating an invisible field in front of her that acted as a shield. Ezreal's bolts bounced off the field, but it slowly began cracking. Lux used this time to run back quickly, and Ezreal stopped his relentless attacking as they both backed off without any damage done to them.

"I don't plan on keeping this suspenseful...better end this soon." Ezreal muttered to himself as he weaved a mystic shot between two caster minions. However, Lux dodged it, moving back some more. He was gaining ground now.

* * *

Shyvana trudged through the Lounge, looking around her. She had a sandwich in her hand as her eyes darted from the food court area to the spa area. She had to be around somewhere. _Then again, she's more slippery than she seems. That's how she escaped, after all._ Shyvana grunted as she stuffed the rest of her sandwich in her mouth. It was a troublesome task, but she didn't mind it all that much. _Not like the rest of his men wanted me around anyways._

"Really? Lux and Ezreal?" Shyvana's ears perked as she caught wind of those names. She began walking nonchalantly closer to the conversation, pretending that her focus was elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Tristana and Teemo talking while sitting at a table.

"Yeah! They were in the middle of the lounge, looking like a couple in an argument. I think they're going to form a team!" Tristana exclaimed. Teemo made some comment, but Shyvana didn't hear it. She tapped her chin distractedly.

 _...a team? She's making a team with Ezreal?_

* * *

Golden light and explosions were everywhere as Ezreal and Lux ran side by side through the jungle, each of them launching attacks at each other while making sure to keep up with the other.

"Tch!" Lux shut one eye as the tree behind her was blasted to bits, and she quickly ducked to dodge his second mystic shot before running forward and launching her own attack. Ezreal jumped in the air to dodge it, and her eyes narrowed as she saw her opportunity.

"You can't dodge midair! Light Binding!" She launched her magic in the form of two glowing cuffs, aiming straight for Ezreal's ankles. He smirked.

"You of all people should know…" Just as it seemed he would be chained down, he disappeared in a golden flash and reappeared a few meters ahead of Lux.

"That I'm not that easy to catch!" He finished his sentence. He began shooting mystic shots at Lux, and she quickly took cover behind a tree, breathing hard. Ezreal continued barraging her with mystic shots until the tree exploded.

"Ah!" Lux yelled out as she was sent flying across the jungle floor. Ezreal arcane shifted even closer before launching more arrows at her.

"I need to buy some time...prismatic barrier!" Lux yelled out, tossing her wand forward. The invisible field began warding off the arrows as she slowly stood and dusted off her legs. Her wand returned back to her before she began running to the side to get an angle on Ezreal.

"You're more slippery than I remember, Lux! You must really want to win this!" Ezreal said as he began following her.

"I could say the same to you, Ez! You don't go easy on a lady, huh? Well I wouldn't want it any other way! You're exactly what I'd like to have in a teammate!" Ezreal smirked.

"You, too, Lux." She stopped for a second.

"What?"

"Got you!" He arcane shifted above her and began raining down arrows, but Lux reacted immediately.

"Lucent Singularity!" The sphere of light exploded the debris around her, giving her some cover as she began running at the same angle.

"Alright, I've got him…! Light Binding!" The cuffs connected to Ezreal's ankles right as he landed, making his eyes go wide.

"What?" Chains of light became visible for a split second, connecting the cuffs of light on his ankles to her wand.

"Now…" Lux began leaping backwards to create distance. Ezreal's eyes zeroed in on her as he raised his bow with both hands.

"I can't move, but I can still take you out from afar, Luxanna. Surely you haven't forgotten my signature move." A large amount of particles of energy began gathering at Ezreal's fingertips and on his bow.

Lux's eyes narrowed determinedly as she decided she was far enough, and she rose her wand as particles of light began materializing in a line from her to Ezreal.

"I won't lose…!" A large amount of power began fluctuating from her wand as the particles of light began materializing into energy.

"Now then…!" The arc of energy finished building up in Ezreal's bow, and he gave a battle cry as he let it loose.

"TRUESHOT BARRAGE!"

"FINAL SPARK! AHHHHHH!"

A massive explosion filled the rift, as well as a single voice.

"FIRST BLOOD!"

* * *

 **And it ends on a cliffhanger! Got any questions? Just wanna talk about how you felt about the story? Feel free to leave a review!**


	4. This is how we say hello in Zaun

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Alright, chapter 2 is here! I'm glad people seem to be liking the characters, the way they're fleshed out is definitely one of my main focuses! We can only get so much personality from them in-game; you can expect a lot of character development in this story!  
**

* * *

Chapter 2: This is how we say hello in Zaun

There was the panting noise of someone breathing harshly. Footsteps crashed down against an assortment of trash that lay on the floor as a figure ran through an alleyway. He turned a corner and continued running, his breathing still harsh. After a few seconds, two more figures followed behind him, each of them with a gun of some sort raised.

"Stop right there, you lowly thief!" They began shooting at him, but he managed to evade every bullet before jumping off the wall of a building, creating more distance between them.

 _I'm the thief, huh…? Is that how things work? I'm simply taking things...and returning them where they belong._

* * *

"...how...how, how, how…" Ezreal had his head down as he trailed behind Lux, who giggled a bit.

"Well, it's quite a simple explanation, actually. Trueshot Barrage gathers countless particles of energy to fire a massive bolt, demolishing everything in it's path. Final Spark, on the other hand, materializes particles of light in a single line, then ignites, or sparks, the large line of particles all at once to incinerate everything in a line simultaneously. Basically, Trueshot Barrage has to travel to the opponent; Final Spark doesn't." Ezreal continued moping as Lux laughed.

"Come on, Ez, did you _really_ think that I didn't remember how your signature move works?"

"It's not that...I just...still can't believe I…argh! If I had fired sooner! If my Trueshot Barrage hit you before you finished charging your damn laser, I wouldn't be in this predicament!" Lux narrowed her eyes.

"Ezreal, I don't like the way you're speaking to me." He sighed in defeat.

"I should just accept this, shouldn't I…?" Lux's face brightened.

"That's much better!"

"You're a sadist, you know." Ezreal complained while Lux continued to revel at his lamenting.

"Come on now, Ez! It's not that bad! At least it's a team with me, right?" He sighed.

"I suppose if I was ever to form a team, this _is_ the best case scenario."

"See? Not so bad. Now come on, we're going to the 'form a team' desk in the Institute!" Ezreal sighed as he followed her obediently. They left the Lounge of Legends, finding themselves in a hallway.

"This way!" Lux began skipping in a direction, and again, Ezreal simply followed her obediently. When he paid attention to his surroundings again, they had already arrived at the desk.

"Stop slouching! It looks unprofessional!" Lux scolded as she walked up to the desk.

"Who said I wanted to look professional?" Ezreal grunted, but straightened his back anyways as he walked up right behind her.

"Hello!" Lux greeted the man at the desk. He had flat brown hair that was combed way too well to the side, his eyes were droopy and he wore the plainest pair of glasses Ezreal had ever seen.

"Hello." He returned the greeting boredly. It was the most boring voice Ezreal had ever heard. A nametag on his suit read, 'Celio'.

"Soooo, Celio is it?" Lux said in an upbeat manner.

"Don't act too familiar with me." Celio replied. She laughed as if what he had said was a joke.

"Well, I'd like to form a team!" There was a pause.

"...alright." Celio replied. There was another awkward pause.

"Alright!" Lux echoed. Ezreal scratched the back of his head.

"This clearly isn't getting anywhere." He said from behind her. Lux cast him a look of annoyance before turning back to Celio.

"May we get the form that we need to fill out in order to make our team official?" Celio sighed as he leaned to the side to look behind her.

"Where is your team? Did they send just you two to come talk to the desk?" Lux laughed.

"Oh, no, of course not! The two of us are the only ones on the team!" There was silence.

"S-so far! The only ones on the team so far! You see, we're going to recruit team members once we've formed the team and all, with a fancy team name!" She quickly explained. Celio seemed unimpressed.

"Listen, girl." Lux's eyebrows twitched.

"Girl? Shouldn't you know a champion's name just by the look of their face?" Celio seemed to ignore her.

"You can't form a team with just two people."

"I _said_ there won't be just two people after we've made the team and recruited team members!" Celio sighed.

"You don't seem to understand. You can't form the team before recruiting those team members. Get a full team of 5 or more champions and then come talk to me again." Lux's eyebrow twitched some more.

"Well why not?"

"Because, it's the rules, girl." Lux was about to blow up at this point from being called girl and Ezreal could see it.

"Hehe, sorry about all this trouble…" Ezreal stepped forward slowly and put his hand on Lux's shoulder, pulling her back a bit. Celio rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide his action, making Lux steam in anger even more. Ezreal cringed.

"Listen, _boy_." Lux stepped forward, taking Ezreal by surprise.

"I can already sense a headache from what you're about to say so please don't say it." Celio said. With a sigh, he pushed up his glasses.

"If you're so keen on making a team with only two members, you'll have to talk to a certain higher up. His name is Toren." Lux huffed, as if to say 'that's better'.

"Well, where is this Toren so I may speak to him instead?" Celio seemed to smirk a bit.

"He had a project come up in Zaun. Have fun finding him. Heh. Looks like you'll have to wait until he returns." With that, Celio waved them goodbye.

"Well, what'd you want to do now? Quit, perhaps?" Ezreal said as he followed Lux. She whipped around on him.

"No we are not quitting! We are going to Zaun and finding this Toren!" There was a pause.

"We're...going to...Zaun…" The words seemed to take their time to sink into Ezreal as Lux dragged him.

"To the nearest train!" She announced. With a bit of struggling, Ezreal managed to escape her grasp on him.

"Lux! Lux stop, this is insane! Luxanna Crownguard, stop! We can't travel all the way to Zaun for something stupid like this!" Lux pouted.

"Come _on_ Ez! That Celio jerk was flaunting around like he won, thinking he could make me wait. I'll prove him wrong! Besides, I don't want to give you more time and thus more chances to run away."

"I won't! I won't run away! Just, it's insane for us to go all the way to Zaun just for something like this…" Lux huffed.

"Then I'll be insane!"

"Lux!" Ezreal tried reasoning, but she pouted again, and he signed, arms drooping at his sides in defeat.

"Honestly…" Her face lit up in success and she began dragging him once more to the nearest train. After they had walked quite a distance, the figure of Shyvana appeared.

"A train to Zaun, hm." She muttered to herself. She proceeded to walk in the direction Lux and Ezreal had gone.

* * *

"Two tickets to Zaun, please!" Lux said, smiling. She received their tickets before she boarded the train, still pulling Ezreal along. Finally, he decided he could walk on his own.

"I still can't believe we're doing this…" He muttered. Lux laughed.

"Well you better start believing it. Now come on!" They walked along the train, peering in box to box, looking for open seats. But each one seemed to be full.

"Wha...this is unbelievable!" Lux exclaimed as they began nearing the back of the train.

"Maybe we should just leave now since there are no seats?" Ezreal suggested hopefully. Lux whipped around at him.

"You never used to give up on things so easily!" She accused. Ezreal shrugged.

"What can I say, it's because I don't _want_ to be doing this."

"Oh nonsense, of course you do! Now come on!" Lux encouraged, walking back further. Ezreal sighed as he followed her.

"Ah! Here, here!" She called to him. The two of them entered a cart. There was one other person sitting in there, and since there was room for two people on either side of the cart, there were three open seats. Lux and Ezreal filed in and sat next to each other, with Ezreal opposite to the other person.

"You don't mind us sitting here, do you?" Ezreal asked. The woman simply shook her head to show that she didn't mind. The three of them sat in silence for a while before Lux slowly leaned forward.

"You're...you're Karma, right?" Karma looked up to make eye contact with Lux.

"Yes. Yes I am."

"You're a champion too." Ezreal recognized. She nodded.

"I also recognize you two. Ezreal and Lux." She indicated with a slight movement of her hand at the ticket Ezreal held.  
"What brings the two of you to take a train to Zaun, too?" Ezreal and Lux looked at each other briefly before Lux answered.

"Well, we're trying to form a team. But this stupid guy named Celio won't let us and apparently we need to talk to some higher up and this 'higher up' guy is in Zaun for Gods know what!" Lux's voice had gotten louder and louder until she was shouting and breathing hard at the end of her rant. Karma simply raised an eyebrow.

"I see." _She took that pretty well._ Ezreal thought to himself as Karma turned to look out the window.

"...wh-what brings you here? You asked what brought us to buy tickets to Zaun, too, so that means you're also headed there, right?" Lux asked after a delay, bringing Karma's attention back to them.

"I'm sponsoring relief programs over in Zaun, specifically for the children on the streets of Zaun. I must go in order to personally help set up the relief programs and get it started. There are a number of volunteers who are willing to head the programs full time; and Janna is also helping me to sponsor it. She's planned to have a very proactive role; I'm simply going for a day to help them get off their feet."

"That's far more important than what we're doing, it's honestly impressive." Ezreal commented. Karma nodded to him in thanks. There was another small silence before Karma chose to break it this time, speaking up once more.

"I'm sorry that I appeared so uninterested in your woes before, I shouldn't have answered so simply. You're forming a team, you said?" Lux laughed nervously, putting her hands up.

"Ahaha, no, no, you don't need to apologize! I was just ranting anyways, I wouldn't call it a woe or anything! But yes, Ez and I are forming a team!" Karma tilted her head slightly.

"But you said they wouldn't let you? Are the magus at the Institute allowed to deny champions the right to form their own team? I know some teams have a magus at the Institute as their 'Team Manager', but it isn't required, is it?" Lux laughed nervously again.

"Well, that's because…" She looked at Ezreal, so he continued on for her with a sigh.

"It's because the team only consists of the two of us." Lux seemed to rub her feet together embarrassedly as there was a silence. Then, Karma erupted into a laughter that Ezreal never would've guessed the silent woman had. Lux also seemed taken aback as she looked at Ezreal.

"I-I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it, do forgive me!" Karma said between laughs. She rubbed at her eye before looking back at them.

"You two certainly are something else, trying to form a team with only two members. I think it shows the resolve you have to being on a team together. I like it." Lux's eyes lit up beside Ezreal, and he also couldn't help but smile at Karma's compliment.

"Yeah?" He said. Karma nodded.

"What's more, you're sticking to what you want to do. You were told you couldn't form a team with only two members, but you're doing everything in your power to make it happen. You said you were impressed with my efforts to aid in the Zaun Relief Programs, but I'm far more impressed with the tenacity I've discovered the two of you to possess. Stay steadfast; I'm sure at the end of your journey, you shall achieve what you seek." Ezreal and Lux both smiled, and Karma returned the smile.

"You have a way with words, you know, Karma. I can see why Janna would want your help in sponsoring relief programs; you're very inspirational." Lux said. Karma gave a light-hearted laugh.

"I wouldn't know about that, rather, I think the two of you fighting for what you want is the inspirational thing here."

"I'm grateful for your kind words! When we begin to recruit our teammates, I hope we have someone like you whose words inspire actions." Ezreal said. Lux's eyes widened as she turned to look at Ezreal, and he turned to meet her eyes, a smile on his face.

"Ezreal…" She muttered. His grin widened as he gave Lux a thumbs up.

"Let's make this team great, shall we, Lux?" Her surprised face slowly turned into a determined one as she returned his grin.

"Yes! Let's!" Karma watched the two of them with a look of sincerity and joy.

"So tell us more about the relief programs in Zaun!" Lux urged, leaning forward enthusiastically. Karma couldn't help but laugh at her energy, and Ezreal smiled. _She's adorable when she's all excited like this._ His eyes widened at his own thoughts. _Wait, did I just call Lux adorable?_ He began mentally slapping himself as he looked at her. She was leaning her chin on her hands, which were resting on her lap, as she listened intently to Karma, smiling and nodding. _Cut it out, Ezreal. You two have been friends for a long time._

Deciding not to dwell on it further, his gaze shifted to Karma, who was sitting up in a straight, tall, noble posture. She moved her hands as she spoke to Lux about the relief programs, putting emphasis on her words. Ezreal couldn't help but smile once again. _And this woman. I didn't want to dedicate myself to a team, but she makes it sound like such a great thing, I can't help but feel inspired now. Lux and I were lucky to meet her on our way to form our team. I'm sure this woman will do great things._ He sat back, leaning on his seat, as he listened along with Lux to Karma's explanation of the orphanages that would be set up.

* * *

The train began slowing to a stop as Lux, Ezreal, and Karma all began to try getting their laughter under control.

"A-and then what?" Lux asked, afraid that the answer would only make her laugh harder. Karma smirked.

"He asked me why I did it." Ezreal also began slowly calming down from his laughter.

"A-and what'd you say?"  
"I told him; Karma." Ezreal and Lux both started laughing, and Karma chuckled a bit too, pleased with their reaction.

"I-it seems we've arrived at Zaun!" Ezreal said, calming himself down from his laughing once again. Lux beside him did the same, letting out a loud sigh.

"This was fun." She stated, standing up. Karma and Ezreal did the same, agreeing with her. The three champions filed out of the train and stepped foot into Zaun. Ezreal looked around him with a smile, still feeling inspired by Karma to finish the formation of his and Lux's team.

"So...where do we start looking for this guy?" Ezreal asked. Lux shrugged.

"If you'd like, you could come with me to the relief program's headquarters here in Zaun. I'll be connected to some higher ups; one of them may know where to find your man." Karma suggested. Ezreal and Lux's eyes lit up. By now, they had already begun to see Karma as a godsend.

"Let's go!" Lux shouted, running ahead, then quickly stopping to run back to them.

"Wait, I don't know where to go! Karma, you lead!" Karma and Ezreal chuckled to each other at Lux's antics before Karma began walking and the two of them followed. They didn't get very far before there was a nearby explosion.

"What?" Ezreal said, turning his head to where the noise came from. Karma and Lux did the same. They saw a shadowed figure burst out of a store, knocking crates over as he did so. Two men with guns raised followed him, and behind them was the storekeeper, who shouted vulgar insults at them.

"What's going on?" Ezreal said as he began moving in that direction.

"Ezreal, wait!" Lux shouted, going after him. Karma blinked in confusion, but followed.

* * *

"Heh, if you think you'll catch me, you've clearly been in training too long! Who taught you to shoot a gun anyways? I don't use guns, but I bet even _I_ would've hit _my_ target by now!" The pursuers gave grunts of annoyance as they continued shooting.

"Mad now, are ya? That's okay, keep shooting at this lowly thief! I assure you, you'll run outta bullets before I run outta gas! Haha!" He jumped over some trash when suddenly, a zapping bullet hit his left leg.

"Ah!" He yelled out in surprise as he fell on his landing. "Ouch…" He murmured as the pursuers stopped quite a distance away, pointing their guns at him. He looked up to see them aiming at him.

"You've been caught. Surrender yourself this instant, thief." He rubbed his nose, still smirking.

"And what if I don't?" One of his pursuers stepped forward angrily.

"I've had it with him. I'll take your provoking as a refusal to cooperate. I'll apprehend the criminal now." He pulled the trigger of his gun.

"Wait!" A golden, almost white bolt flew through the air and collided with the bullet, making a very small explosion and a large noise. A crowd had already gathered nearby as Ezreal arcane shifted right in front of the 'criminal'. The man who shot cursed.

"Hey blondie! What do you think you're doing? That's a criminal you're defending!" Ezreal looked behind him at the boy, who gave him a confused look, before turning back around to look at what he assumed to be the Zaun police officials.

"Look, you can't just go around shooting people to death! You're officers; your job isn't to kill criminals, it's to kill crime. There's a difference."

"Ezreal!" Lux ran over to him. She took note of the situation and stood right behind Ezreal's shoulder, her hand clutched over her chest.

"What do you think you know about being an officer, eh, blondie?!" The officer roared. Ezreal stood his ground, his gaze strong.

"I'm good friends with the most successful sheriff in all of Valoran. I know how a good officer goes about their business." The officer with his gun raised began cursing.

"Tch, this situation just keeps pissing me off! We'll think of an excuse for the situation later! Right now, I'm going to handle the case and apprehend all three of these pests!" He shouted, raising his gun more.

"Stop this. Put your gun down. No more violence." Karma's voice rang out suddenly as she calmly stepped in front of Ezreal.

"Karma?" Ezreal said slowly. She flashed him a confident look before returning her gaze to the two officers. The officer who hadn't shot turned to the officer who was ready to shoot at all four of them.

"That's Karma. She's an important figure right now for Zaun and the relief corps; you can't shoot at her." The officer with his gun raised began shaking angrily before he lowered his arms.

"Fine. I won't shoot you down just because you're some important person. Just hand over the criminal. Surely someone like you can't be caught protecting a criminal, right?" He grinned in victory but Karma simply looked behind her.

"As far as I can see, sir, there is no criminal." Everyone's eyes widened, and Ezreal turned to see that the 'criminal' had indeed fled the scene. The officers cursed before they turned away.

"Come on, let's report the situation back." They began walking away. Ezreal's eyes were focused behind him, looking around.

"Huh?" Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the 'criminal' sneaking past a nearby building. Eyes narrowing in determination, Ezreal quickly arcane shifted, leaving Lux blinking.

"Where'd he go? Argh, that stupid Ezreal!"

* * *

Ezreal stopped running, panting slightly, as he found himself approaching some form of makeshift shelter. Quickly catching his breath, he walked towards the entrance and peered in to see numerous kids of different ages all sitting around.

"Ekko's back!" One of them exclaimed. They began standing up as Ezreal saw Ekko taking some of them by the hand and raising some of them into the air. He smiled and chuckled as they tugged at his arms and clothing playfully.

"Hey, Ekko, did you find them? Did you, did you?"

"Yeah, tell us Ekko! Did you kick some officer butt while at it?" Ekko rubbed the back of his head as he was barraged with questions.

"Well uh...I...didn't get them." The noise began dying down in disappointment, so Ekko quickly spoke up again. "But I will! I will! I promise! I'll go back and get them! I'll sneak back in tomorrow morning, just at the break of dawn." Ekko squatted until he was the same height as the kids in the room. They all leaned in, listening to his description of things imaginatively.

"And then, when they're aaaaaall asleep...BAM!" Ekko yelled suddenly, and all the kids jumped up, running all over the place screaming and laughing. Ekko smiled at their reaction. Ezreal also smiled at the scene, and decided to make his presence known. He was curious as to what was going on. Slowly, he rose his fist before knocking against the cold, hard wall of the makeshift shelter.

"Hey." He said. All the noise died down as every pair of eyes turned to him. Ekko didn't hesitate for a second as he whipped out what seemed to be some sort of green, blunt sword.

"Woah! Relax, I-" Ezreal was cut off as Ekko shot forward, swinging. Ezreal was forced to arcane shift to another part of the room, and all the kids began backing up into a corner behind Ekko.

"Stop! What're you doing? Is this how you say hello in Zaun or something?" Ezreal yelled, putting his hands up. Ekko's eyes only got more aggressive as his grip on his weapon tightened.

"Get out. Now." Ezreal gave him a confused look.

"What? Why? I helped you earlier, I _saved_ you earlier, you know." Ekko's glare full of hatred only burned more as he got in a stance.

"I said, get out. Now. You filthy Pilty." Ezreal's eyes widened.

"'Pilty'..." He repeated, but he still made no move to leave. Ekko gave a small sigh as he looked back at the children behind him. He muttered an apology to them before turning back to glare at Ezreal.

"Fine." He said "You want to know how we say hello in Zaun?"

"Tch." Ezreal grit his teeth, quickly getting in a stance. In the blink of an eye, Ekko disappeared, causing Ezreal's eyes to widen in surprise.

"What?" He exclaimed, looking all around him. Ekko suddenly appeared behind him.

" _This_ is how we say hello in Zaun!" Ekko yelled, his blunt sword slamming into Ezreal's back.

"Ah!" Ezreal was sent flying across the room, and immediately all the kids ran to some other corner. Ezreal slowly began using his arms to help himself sit up, gasping for air.

"Awww, come on, I only hit you once! Don't tell me this is all a Pilty's got!" Ekko said, his face taunting. He jumped from one foot to the other foot, waiting for Ezreal to get up. Ezreal glared at him, coughing up saliva before managing to stand.

"Look, I don't want to fight you! I-" Ezreal didn't get to finish speaking as Ekko lunged for him again. Letting out a loud sigh of frustration, Ezreal's bow materialized from his gauntlet before he began shooting bolts and arrows at Ekko.

"Hah!" Ekko cried out as he hit the bolts away with his blunt sword, closing the distance between them. Ezreal waited until the last second before he arcane shifted behind Ekko, shooting him.

"Ah!" Ekko yelled as an explosion hit him against the wall. Ezreal then leaped backwards, putting more distance between him and Ekko before shooting some more. Ekko ran out of the explosion angrily, ducking and weaving past the energy bolts. His blunt sword dragged against the ground, making sparks as he ran straight for Ezreal.

Ezreal narrowed his eyes, standing his ground and aiming his bow with one eye shut, trying to get the right angle.

"Got it." Ezreal said to himself as a bolt materialized in the center of his bow.

"Hah!" Ekko yelled, leaping up into the air with his hands raised over his head, ready to swing his blunt sword down on Ezreal.

"Yah!" Ezreal's arms flew up, pointing his bow at Ezreal as his hands pulled back.

"LA THREYA NON VI!" A voice boomed out of nowhere. Ezreal and Ekko immediately backed up from each other as a blast of green fire in the form of two dragon heads came in between them, leaving green flames burning in it's wake to keep them split up.

"What the?" They both said. Ezreal turned to where the blast of fire had come from to see Karma at the entrance of the shelter with Lux behind her. Green energy slowly faded from Karma's hands, showing that she had been the attacker. Slowly, she took more steps into the shelter with Lux following, surveying the area. The green fire was still raging on between Ezreal and Ekko, lighting up everyone and everything in the room with a neon green illumination.

"Stop this at once." Karma commanded.

"Karma…" Ezreal muttered. However, before he could say more, Ekko stomped his foot forward.

"Put it out! Put that fire out right now! You're scaring them!" Karma's gaze fell upon the children cowering in a corner. She then shifted to looking at Ezreal and Ekko before her arm outstretched towards the flames, making them die out. The area the burst of flames had hit was completely unscathed, making Ezreal stare hard at the floor in front of him in confusion. He had expected burns everywhere.

"Spirit Fire." Karma explained. "I had no intention of hurting anyone or anything." Lux took this moment to run forward.

"Ezreal you idiot!" She scolded, grabbing a hold of his ear.

"Ow, god, ouch! Lux, stop that!" Ezreal begged, swatting at her hand to no avail. She scolded him some more before letting go.

"Are we more calm now? We can settle this the diplomatic way." Karma said. Ezreal's gaze fell on Ekko, who was standing in front of the children, looking at all of them with distrust and distaste. Ezreal stepped forward, making Ekko's stance in front of the kids become even more defensive.

"Relax, I won't try anything unless you come at me first, like before." Ekko grunted. Ezreal looked back at Lux and Karma before turning back to Ekko.

"We're all champions of the League here. You can trust us."

"Frankly I'd prefer not to trust any of you, thank you very much." Ekko said. Ezreal seemed to contemplate his words for a bit before speaking up again.

"What happened earlier? Why were they chasing you?" Ekko opened his mouth to speak, but one of the kids answered instead.

"Ekko was just getting our stuff back! Those mean officers bullied us and took them from us! Ekko was just taking it back! S-so, don't hurt Ekko!"

"Shh, be quiet!" Ekko hushed the child before turning back to Ezreal. "What happened earlier is none of your business, so you can get out now. You aren't your _friend_ , you aren't _the_ Sheriff. So you can stop poking your nose into this situation now." Ezreal rolled his eyes.

"I heard you earlier. You didn't get whatever you were trying to get, did you? Here, I'll help-" Ezreal was cut off as Ekko slammed his blunt sword onto the floor.

"I'm not looking for the help of some Pilty. Now," The blunt sword began glowing neon green. Everybody's eyes widened as an hourglass Ekko wore on his back began to resonate light as well.

"I will say this one. Last. Time. Get out of here...before I make you."

* * *

 **Preview**

 **Chapter 3: The Boy who Shattered Time**

 _Ekko panted hard as he struggled to get to his feet. 'I have to stand up...' he thought, gritting his teeth together as his legs shook. 'I have to keep going...' There was a loud noise as countless guns went off. Ekko's eyes widened as a rain of bullets soared over him. The hourglass on his back began to illuminate as time slowed down; but the hundreds of bullets were still coming towards Ekko. 'Think...think...!' However, even with time slowed down, Ekko was out of luck. Out of time. There were too many bullets for him to possibly dodge given the state his body was in._

 _"Guh!" Ekko yelled as he fell to one knee, looking up at the bullets that were beginning to regain their speed as he lost power. The result was inevitable._

 _'Is this how I...go out?'_

* * *

 **Hehe, I hope you like that little teaser I left for chapter 3! I'll have it out ASAP, I really enjoy writing this story and I hope you enjoy reading it! Please feel free to leave a review, or if not, just make sure to keep reading! You don't want to miss all the action that will be coming up! Stay tuned for Team Ezreal: The Legends Rising, Chapter 3: The Boy who Shattered Time!**


	5. The boy who Shattered Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Sorry for the long wait for chapter 3! I'm not sure how often I'll get to update.**

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Chapter 3: The boy who Shattered Time

"...I can't believe this! That stupid bastard!" Ezreal yelled out loud, stomping his foot on the ground. He, Lux, and Karma were out on the slums of Zaun.

"Ezreal, calm down-" Lux started, but Ezreal cursed again.

"I don't understand! We're offering to help him; why won't he just take it? Just because I'm Piltovian?!"

"Well, why are you offering to help him?" Ezreal's eyes widened as Karma spoke up. There was silence before Karma's face broke out into a warm smile.

"You are very kind, Ezreal. However, the people of Zaun are very prideful. Ekko is no different. He is also a champion; he wants to be able to-and is able to-do things on his own." Lux nodded, placing her hand on Ezreal's shoulder.

"Karma is right, Ezreal. There's no reason to beat yourself up over any of this; if he doesn't want help then so be it. Ekko's the one taking care of those kids and the situation. You can't give help where help isn't wanted." Ezreal sighed.

"It just...makes me angry. If he actually wanted to accomplish whatever he wanted to accomplish, he would take the route with the best chance of success; meaning he would accept our help. The more the merrier, right?"

"Except he doesn't know this is the route with the best chance of success. He doesn't trust us, even if we are fellow champions." Lux pointed out.

"That's even more stupid!" Ezreal yelled, ruffling his hands through his hair. Lux and Karma looked at each other with a sigh.

"Let's head to the relief program's headquarters, shall we?" Karma suggested. Lux nodded.

"Come on, Ez. Let's forget about this whole encounter." Ezreal seemed to hesitate before finally sighing.

"Alright. I suppose you're right." The three of them began walking in a direction with Karma in the lead. Lux was saying something to him about how she was going to convince the Institute Magus to let them form their team, but Ezreal wasn't listening. His mind was on the Ekko situation.

 _You aren't your_ friend _, you aren't_ the _sheriff_

 _I'm not looking for the help of some Pilty_

Ezreal clenched his fist in frustration, making sure Lux wouldn't notice as she continued to ramble on to him. _Something doesn't feel right._ Ezreal thought to himself.

"Ez! Ezreal! Are you even listening to me?!" Lux yelled, waving her hand in front of his face. He blinked at her before nodding quickly.

"Y-yeah! About that Toren guy, right?" Lux looked at him suspiciously, but continued talking anyways.

"Well, as I was saying…" Ezreal found his mind wandering away immediately once again. _Isn't he a champion? What's he doing running around the slums of Zaun anyways? Why is he just going around getting himself into trouble like this? Talk about a reckless kid…_

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. He'll be back tomorrow morning." Ezreal's ears perked, and out of the corner of his eye he saw two officers speaking to each other.

"Tch, that delinquent. I heard he actually has a life?" At this comment, the other officer began to laugh.

"Him? A life? I don't know where you heard that rumor. Kid's a champion of the League, but that doesn't mean he has a life. And he knows he doesn't have a life, too. He's a troublemaking delinquent with no life at heart, you see. Runs around getting himself in trouble here in Zaun, and when that ain't enough for him, he runs around getting to cause trouble at the League. He ruined his life. Ain't no second chances for that kid no matter how many times he rewinds." The two officers began laughing as Ezreal narrowed his eyes. _They're talking about Ekko._

"So what should we do about a kid who can control time like that anyways?"

"Well, we have the advantage; he _thinks_ he'll have the element of surprise. Set up all the officers on duty to get him. We're putting that stray down for _good_ this time. Even the Institute of War won't be able to say anything about us dealing with a criminal."

"Yes, sir. I'll have all the officers standby to catch him and take him out once and for all."

"Ezreal! Gods, Ezreal, stop zoning out like that!" Ezreal turned to Lux, who was fuming at him. She grabbed a hold of his sleeve, pulling him along. "Honestly…" She sighed.

"S-sorry." Ezreal apologized distractedly.

" _Well uh...I...didn't get them. But I will! I will! I promise! I'll go back and get them! I'll sneak back in tomorrow morning, just at the break of dawn."_

Ezreal's eyes began focusing. _They'll be waiting for him...expecting him. With a lot of people, too._

"Just over here." Karma said as they began walking towards a building.

 _I have to warn him._ Ezreal decided. _It wouldn't be right. I don't feel right not doing anything._

"Eeeeeeez!" Lux complained. She put on a pouty face.

"What? You don't want to make a team with me anymore? Was all that stuff you said on the train a lie? You idiot!" Ezreal laughed nervously.

"N-no! Of course I want to form this team still! Sorry." She continued to pout, but turned to follow Karma.

Ezreal sighed. _Lux'll kill me if she knew I was still getting myself involved in this, so I have to wait to give her and Karma the slip. I'll warn him tonight._

"So, gonna show us around?" He said, walking up to stand beside Karma. She smiled.

"If you would like me to. You don't want to look for your man immediately?" Lux laughed.

"Oh, Karma! You're our friend! Show us around!" Karma's eyes seemed to widen a fraction when Lux said that before a smile appeared on her face.

"Alright then. Just this way!" Karma began walking in a direction, and Lux and Ezreal followed.

" _Kid's a champion of the League, but that doesn't mean he has a life. And he knows he doesn't have a life, too...He ruined his life. Ain't no second chances for that kid no matter how many times he rewinds."_

The words the officer had spoken replayed in Ezreal's mind over and over again, and he wasn't sure why.

"Ezreal, Lux, this is the co-manager of the relief programs." Karma introduced them to a short, fat man with a mustache. He outstretched his hand, and Ezreal and Lux took turns shaking it.

"Pleased to meet you two, although I of course know who you are. I'm a magus at the Institute of War, you see. My name is Toren." There was a pause before Lux gasped.

" _You're_ Toren?! Ezreal, Ezreal, it's him! Oh, I never thought we would run into you so soon! But then again, he _did_ say you were over in Zaun for a project. I suppose that was the Zaun relief project." Toren looked at Karma questioningly, and she immediately caught on.

"Ah, I see. Toren, my friends would like to speak with you."

"With me? About what?" Toren said, turning to Lux.

"Well, Ezreal and I were hoping to form a team!" Toren scratched his head.

"Then you could've just gone to the desk at the Institute." Lux chuckled nervously.

"W-well, you see...the team only consists of Ezreal and I. For now! For now. We're going to recruit three more members eventually, obviously before we participate in any matches. But we want to create our team right away, with a cool team name and all to get ourselves out there! After all, nobody knows how long it could take us to recruit members." Toren stroked his mustache.

"I see...that still doesn't explain why you couldn't just go to the desk, though." There was a pause. A long pause. Lux laughed nervously(borderline insanely).

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but I don't understand? The man named Celio who we encountered at the desk told us we had to speak to you, but that you were all the way in Zaun?" Toren sighed.

"That would explain it. Celio, that lazy magus...well, I'll get straight to the point. You didn't need to come talk to me; you could've made your team over at the institute." There was another long pause. A _very_ long pause.

"S-s-s-so...you mean t-to tell me…" Lux started, shaking in anger. She couldn't even finish her sentence because she was so angry, but her message got across. Toren coughed.

"I-I'll deal with Celio...appropriately. And of course, I'll help you form the team, too! I mean, I'll approve it! I'll get you the form to fill out! But not right now. Maybe tomorrow? I'd like to focus on Zaun right now. Karma?" Karma nodded.

"Would you mind waiting until then?" Lux continued her nervous breakdown laughter.

"Ha, hahaha! Of course we don't mind! I mean we didn't even need to come all this way but we already have! So might as well! Right?! Am I right Ezreal?!"

"If we never came we never would've met Karma." Ezreal said simply. That seemed to begin calming Lux down, but Ezreal still wasn't paying full attention to them. His eyes narrowed in thought.

" _Ain't no second chances for that kid no matter how many times he rewinds."_

Night came quickly. Lux and Ezreal had been given rooms to use at the Relief Corps Headquarters, but Ezreal was currently closing the door to his room behind him as he snuck out. He walked through a set of hallways until he reached the main floor, quietly opening the door that lead outside. He shut the door behind him even more softly before quickly heading for the slums of Zaun.

Being the Prodigal Explorer that he was, he was easily able to relocate the shelter Ekko had been in. He sighed softly as he slowly walked towards it.

"I'm sure he already expects to run into some resistance, so he'll probably just tell me I wasted my time...tch. Even so…" Ezreal didn't finish his sentence, quickly stopping all forms of sound as he peered through the entrance of the shelter. He saw all the kids sleeping on makeshift mattresses of sorts on the floor. He looked all around the room, looking for Ekko.

 _It can't be_ that _hard to spot a guy with a white mohawk._ Ezreal thought frustratedly. _Maybe he saw me and is trying to knock me out from behind?!_ Ezreal quickly whipped around, but saw no one. He sighed. _Well, I guess better safe than sorry._ When he turned back to look inside the shelter, he came face to face with one of the kids, who was now awake and standing right in front of him.

"Ah-!" Ezreal slapped a hand over his mouth as he fell backwards onto the ground. The kid tilted his head, and Ezreal gulped.

"You're...that guy from earlier this morning?" Ezreal sat in silence, deciding what to do, before he nodded.

"Right. That's me. Do you know where Ekko is?" The little boy looked down at his shoes, and Ezreal leaned in a bit.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm here to help him. I'm not going to do any harm to Ekko, so you can tell me where he is." The little boy still said nothing, looking away. Ezreal sighed.

"Alright, we'll do this another way. You know where he is, right?" The boy nodded.

"Can you give him a message for me? You don't have to tell him it's a message from me though." The boy nodded again, and Ezreal smiled. This would work. This way, Ekko wouldn't even know Ezreal was ever here.

"Alright. Some officers were talking, and they're setting up a surprise trap for Ekko for when he raids their place tomorrow morning. They wanna take him out once and for all. So tell him he can't go. Okay?" Ezreal stood up and turned to walk away, but the boy gripped Ezreal's shirt, and his grip was shaking so fearfully that Ezreal whipped back around immediately.

"What's wrong?" He asked, alarmed. The little boy's eyes were wide.

"Are they...are they really setting a trap for Ekko? Are they really planning to have all their officers take him out?" Ezreal mentally slapped himself for telling this stuff to a kid, but he nodded.

"Yeah, so you have to tell Ekko before tomorrow morning, alright?" Ezreal was about to turn to leave again, but the kid's grip got even tighter.

"You said you were here to help Ekko right? You want to help Ekko right? Please! Please help Ekko! Ekko is…" Ezreal's eyes became concentrated as he squatted down to the kid's eye level.

"Ekko is what?" The kid looked away, but finally answered after Ezreal prompted him once more.

"Ekko is already going to the police station!" Ezreal's eyes widened.

"He's what?" The kid gulped.

"The officers...they don't care about the kids on the slums...so we were playing with some of our dolls and toys and they...they stole them from us for fun. So Ekko has been trying to get our toys back, but he...please! Ekko always does this! He always tries to act like our hero, like the hero of Zaun, but really he's just putting himself in danger! He doesn't even care if he gets hurt! He just says things like, 'I'll just rewind if I get hurt', or 'They can kill me, but they better do it more than once', as if he doesn't care about himself! Ekko is always doing these things for us like he doesn't care about his own life! Please help Ekko! Please don't let Ekko hurt anymore! Please don't let Ekko die!" Ezreal's eyes were wide at the kid's sudden outburst. He was gripping Ezreal's shirt in both of his hands now, crying.

" _He ruined his life. Ain't no second chances for that kid no matter how many times he rewinds."_

Ezreal's fists were clenched tightly as he began shaking in anger.

"What an idiot…" He muttered. The kid slowly looked up at Ezreal's angry and determined face.

"What an absolute idiot...not accepting help, not considering himself or those around him and how they might feel about him…" Ezreal looked down at the kid and flashed him a smile.

"Alright. Go back in the shelter. Protect everyone here. I'll come back with Ekko. I'll…" Ezreal turned around.

"I'll...save Ekko. So, kid. Which direction is the station at?"

"Hah! Hahaha!" Ekko laughed out as he swatted at another officer with the clock hand, sending him sliding on his back.

"I'll admit, I came here expecting to have to be sneaky, but I'm glad I can be as loud as ever since no one's asleep here! Way more fun!" The officers around him began grumbling in annoyance before shooting at him. He smirked and slammed the clock hand into the ground, and immediately, time around him froze. Every bullet that came within a certain vicinity of him froze. Ekko grabbed one of the bullets between two fingers with a provocative smirk.

"What, are you trying to _kill_ me?" He said sarcastically. They began shooting some more, so Ekko jumped to the side before running along the wall.

"Hahhhh!" He shouted out as he held the large clock hand out as he ran, hitting a bunch of the officers that he passed by.

"And...hah!" He leapt off of the wall and into the middle of all the officers, and as soon as his clock hand slammed into the floor, a large ringing noise sounded. Then, a gravitational field began spreading out with Ekko as the center. When it was done expanding, every officer in the room was paralyzed.

"...parallel convergence." He said. He stood up, wiping a trickle of sweat before knocking out all the stunned officers with a swing of the clock hand.

"...all in a night's work. Heh." He chuckled to himself before continuing forward. The moment he entered another hallway, gunshots began being fired at him, so he went back around the corner he had came from, back pressed against the wall. Slowly, a smirk spread itself onto his face.

"So they wanted to shoot me down as soon as I came into view, huh. Alright. 1…2...3! Timewinder!" Ekko unhooked a device from his belt and tossed it around the corner. Immediately, he heard gunshots, followed by yells as his timewinder flew down the hallway, gradually expanding in size as it knocked everything it touched aside. It began slowing down before immediately boomeranging back to him, catching the officers by surprise by its sudden speed.

"Now!" He jumped around the corner right in time to catch his timewinder and ran straight for the disarrayed officers. They began shooting at him, so he used the clock hand to swat away the bullets that he was also slowing down...until he felt a sharp pain in his knee.

"Agh! God!" He gasped out as he tripped, clutching his leg.

"Got him! Now!" The officers yelled, shooting more. Ekko's eyes narrowed and, without a second thought, he grabbed a hold of the z-drive and twisted the knob on his hand, rewinding.

"...Now!" He jumped around the corner right in time to catch his timewinder and ran straight for the disarrayed officers. He set up a field around him, slowing all incoming bullets as he zeroed in on them.

"Hah!" He did a jump off of the wall, dodging a bullet that had been aimed for his knee, and made contact with the officers, spinning in a circle and hitting them all aside. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his shoulder.

"Ah!" He gasped as he fell onto his knees, gripping his shoulder, which was steaming. He widened his eyes as he looked up to see laser shooters attached to the wall. Zaun had top notch techmaturgy, after all. More laser shooters appeared out of the ceiling and began pointing at him, readying to fire. He looked from the messy room around him, to his shoulder, and to the lasers. _No good._ Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a hold of the knob of his z-drive, twisting it.

Ekko's breathing was heavy now as he burst into another room, gripping onto one arm. _Damn…!_ Immediately, bullets were fired at him. He slammed his clock hand into the ground, and a parallel convergence began spreading throughout the room. Lasers from the ceiling began raining down at him. He shut an eye, grimacing in pain as one connected with his arm. He gasped in pain as more began raining down on him. _Again!_ He internally screamed, moving his hand forward for the knob of the z-drive. However, he hesitated before twisting it. He looked at his hand in front of his face. His eyes were emotionless. _Again...but why…_ Lasers shot all around him, and he grit his teeth, turning the z-drive.

Ekko burst into the room and immediately put down the parallel convergence. Then, without hesitation, he tossed his timewinder at the ceiling, making quick work of the laser technology. _Got it!_

"Finally." He hadn't even noticed he said that out loud as he rushed down the middle of the hallway, dispatching the officers who were unable to move.

"Hahhhhh!" He yelled as he burst into the next room. Immediately more bullets came at him, and he slowed them down, running forward. More lasers shot from the ceiling, but he was expecting them and tossed his timewinder up. However, there was too much he was trying to focus on at once, and he gasped as he felt a pain in his leg, and he fell over. Ekko panted hard as he struggled to get to his feet. _I have to stand up.._. he thought, gritting his teeth together as his legs shook. _I have to keep going...everybody, they...they're counting on me..._ There was a loud noise as countless guns went off. Ekko's eyes widened as a rain of bullets soared over him. The hourglass on his back began to illuminate as time slowed down; but the hundreds of bullets were still coming towards Ekko. _Think...think...!_ However, even with time slowed down, Ekko was out of luck. He was out of time. There were too many bullets for him to possibly dodge given the state his body was in.

"Guh!" Ekko yelled as he fell to one knee, looking up at the bullets that were beginning to regain their speed as he lost power. _I have to...get up...this is my duty...I have to...for them...even if it kills me, I have to at least...do this much..._ Ekko began struggling hard just to breathe as he strained his muscles to move, but the result was inevitable.

 _Is this how I...go out?_ His eyes were wide as he didn't even move to try and turn back time. _At the end of the day, unable to get their toys back, huh…_ His head lifted to look at the onslaught of bullets coming towards him. Then, his head drooped down, looking at the floor.

 _Well that's alright, I guess...it was inevitable. All of this._ The z-drive glowed, as if reminding him that it was still a thing, but he ignored it as he let his legs slump beneath him. _Giving up in the end, are we? No…_ His eyes remained dead as they stared at the floor. _Given up since the beginning, is it? Ahh….ah...time travel...is so tiring…_ His thoughts began getting fuzzy like this as his eyes grew smaller and smaller. _Time travel...having multiple lives...is...so...so...tiring…_ There was a loud noise suddenly from behind Ekko.

"TRUESHOT BARRAGE!" The darkness that had begun to fill Ekko's mind and vision was immediately replaced with a burning, warm golden light. Ekko's eyes immediately shot open as he watched all the bullets burn away to nothingness as a massive wave of energy flew overhead.

 _What…?_ He was in awe as he watched a large explosion knock all the officers in the room out cold. Confusion washed over him, quickly replaced by fury and another emotion that Ekko couldn't name. He probably could have, maybe, but he didn't want to.

"You…!" He croaked out. Ezreal turned to him. He was clearly trying to look cool, but he was letting too much of a weird smirk creep onto his face, so he just looked like an idiot trying to be heroic. _But really, which one of us is the idiot trying to be heroic here?_ Ekko's inner mind scolded himself.

"Hi. Happy to see me?" Ezreal said. Ekko slowly managed to stand up, somehow finding power in his muscles again and pointing at Ezreal accusingly.

"Wh-what're you doing here?" God, his voice sounded awful right now. Ezreal took a step forward, looking pointedly at Ekko.

"I think the better question is, what are you doing, period? You didn't even try rewinding." Ekko grit his teeth, looking to the side.

"Shut up. I don't need some Pilty trying to tell me how to use my z-drive."

"Telling you? I was just asking you." Ezreal said. Ekko looked at him annoyedly.

"I just…!" _I just wanted to die, this time. I didn't want to rewind. I didn't want to do it over. I didn't feel like trying again, anymore._ Ekko was at a loss for words as his knees began shaking. Ezreal watched as Ekko backed up, but before he fell over, he leaned against the wall for support.

"I…" Ekko croaked out, but both he and Ezreal knew he wasn't going to finish his sentences. Ezreal sighed.

"Stupid. So stupid." Ekko clenched his fists, shutting his eyes and letting Ezreal berate him. "Honestly, why are you even here right now?" Ekko's eyes opened wide. Ezreal crossed his arms, looking at Ekko's confused face. The Zaun boy gulped.

"I...I'm...trying to get their toys back." He said hesitantly.

"Really? It looked to me like you were trying to die." Ekko's eyes widened even more, but this time with a tint of anger as his face scrunched up at Ezreal furiously. He took a step forward, grabbing Ezreal by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you just say?" He threatened, but Ezreal kept his cool, looking at Ekko evenly.

"Tell me I'm wrong." There was a pause. A long pause. Ekko found himself frozen in time as Ezreal's gaze burned into him.

"..."

"Tell me I'm wrong, then, Ekko."

"..." The two of them stood frozen in time for even longer before Ekko let go of his collar, looking downcast with his arms hanging heavily at his sides. Ezreal sighed, looking ahead.

"Did you even have a plan? Do you even know where the toys are being kept?"

"Of course I know. This isn't the first time I've tried to get them. I know exactly where they have the toys; it's just a few rooms ahead." Ekko said quietly. Ezreal seemed to tighten his gauntlet before moving forward.

"Well then, what're we waiting for?"

"..." Ezreal stopped walking when he realized Ekko wasn't following, and he looked back at him.

"Are you coming? If you can't tell me I'm wrong with words, then tell me I'm wrong with actions." Without waiting for a reply, Ezreal turned back around to go down another hallway.

He peeked around a corner to see a number of officers waiting for Ekko. His eyes narrowed. _They set up a formation, filling each hallway up with an overwhelming amount of officers, but they spread it evenly at the same time, so that if Ekko wasted energy rewinding in one hallway, he would just be met with the same number of officers in the next hallway. It makes it so that it's even more repetitive work for him. The drawback to this strategy is that it's so linear, if you can make it through one hallway it basically means you'll have no trouble with the rest. The problem was that Ekko broke. One can only relive a world like ours so many times, I guess that's what happened, even if he won't admit it. I guess the boy who shattered time...became the boy who shattered himself. It's the burden of time travel. Well that's okay. I suppose I'll finish the mission. Karma must be right about me._ Ezreal turned the corner. _I_ am _too soft._

"Hyah!" Ezreal shouted as he began launching bolts from around the corner. Each of his attacks found their mark accurately while he stayed safe from behind the corner. The shouting of officers rang out. Ezreal smirked. Once he deemed most of them had been shot down, he arcane shifted from around the corner straight into the middle of the hallway, shooting. However, a sudden barrage of lasers rained down on him from the ceiling, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. But right before the lasers hit him, they froze up, until Ezreal saw a bunch of motionless lasers in front of him.

"What're you just standing there for?" Ezreal's eyes widened as Ekko appeared behind him.

"Ekko?" Ezreal said. Ekko rolled his eyes.

"Did you really think I was going to throw in the towel, especially after being forced to witness some Pilty like you coming in here to steal my glory? Honestly, that's all you Pilties ever try and do. Besides, you don't know exactly where the toys are. I'd hate for you to have to admit to needing a map." Ezreal wasn't sure to be happy or annoyed, so instead he just turned back to the task at hand.

"Alright, I guess. I'm more than happy to have you watching my back, but-" Ekko chuckled as he stepped in front of Ezreal, causing the blonde's eyes to widen a fraction more.

"No, no, no. You see, that's the problem with you Pilties. Oh, no. You...are the one watching _my_ back." Ekko turned to grin back at Ezreal, who, after a moment of not knowing how to react, grinned back at him with a sigh.

"That's the problem with you Zaun people. Alright then, boy who shattered time," Ezreal got in a stance, his gauntlets pointed forward. "Let's wreak havoc."

The kid Ezreal had talked to was poking his head out of the shelter nervously. It was clear he was on high alert, and also that he was highly stressed.

"...please…" He whispered to himself. He clasped his hands together, closing his eyes. "Ekko's rewinded too many times...please...save him…" He slowly opened his eyes again, and he saw two figures walking towards the shelter.

"Oh please, you wouldn't have lasted a single minute if I didn't have my time field around you."

"Oh really? But last I checked you were literally seconds away from kissing death when I arrived, _just in time_ might I add." Ekko rolled his eyes at Ezreal.

"You really like talking yourself up, huh? Classic Pilty. Don't think you saved anyone; I coulda rewinded at any time."

"But you _didn't_."

"But I _could've_. You don't know what was going to happen. Even _I_ can't see the future, technically."

"We _both_ know-"

"EKKO!" Ezreal and Ekko's argument was interrupted as they turned to the shelter. Both of them gave a smirk.

"Guess who's back." Ekko said. They quickly made their way over to the shelter, toys of all sort in their arms.

"Hey, get everyone up." Ekko said. The boy nodded and ran into the shelter as Ezreal sighed.

"Seriously, though. All that for this." He looked down at the assortment of toys. Ekko smirked.

"Worth?"

"EKKO!" A bunch of kids yelled, and he walked into the shelter. Ezreal followed, and all the kids were immediately crowding them.

"He got them back! He really got them back!"

"Ekko is the best!"

"Of course he got them back! Of course he's the best!" The kids yelled as they ran around with their toys and hugged Ekko. Ezreal couldn't help but smile at the scene. Suddenly, the boy he had talked to tugged on him, and he looked down. The boy smiled.

"Thank you." Ezreal's eyes widened. More kids walked up to him, thanking him and tugging at him. Ezreal's smile widened, and he looked up, eyes making contact with Ekko's.

"Yeah." He said. "Worth."


End file.
